The Crucible Notes

They had no life; they were not allowed to have a life. They were isolated from not only the white race but also their own people. Mr. Michael Reed was one of those slave owners that treated his slaves that they were nothing more than a piece of property. In his files, Mr. Reed had a ledger of daily activities. This ledger contained an hourly and daily record of everything his slaves would do. In some of his recordings, Mr. Reed would write down very strange things for what activity his slaves were doing. He would make mention when they were sick, of course, so he could know how many hours they worked, but many of his recordings were not appropriate for him to be

treeted like a child, to be seen but not to be heerd. This was the aditude in

"There is nothin' more. I swear it, uncle," Abigail promises when Reverend Parris questions her further. Abigail's fervent lies show that she is determined to persuade her uncle and everyone else that she has been wronged. The author also intends to use this quote to show that Abigail has no qualms with lying. When Betty suddenly becomes conscious again and attempts to expose Abigail for the liar that she is, Abigail reacts violently. Abigail "smashes her across the face" and screams, "Shut it! Now shut it!" This reaction shows how far Abigail is willing to go to continue the ruse and convince everyone that she has done nothing wrong. Many of Abigail's lines are short phrases that are very blunt and to the point because Miller intends for her character to embody a person who was cunning and deliberate in deceiving others. At the end of Act I, Abigail begins to claim that she wants to go back to God. "I danced for the Devil; I saw him; I wrote in his book; I go back to Jesus; I kiss His hand. I saw Sarah Good with the Devil! I saw Goody Osburn with the Devil," Abigail cries after Hale begs Tituba to tell him who she saw with the Devil. This

For instance, Abigail’s line to Betty, “Your mother is dead and buried,” can be perceived as something said out of pity in the text; as opposed to the film, where the cruel and cold tone of her voice is evident. Furthermore, The film exaggerates Abigail’s sinister and manipulating nature to eliminate anyone who interferes with what she wants. This is depicted in the film in multiple scenes, such as her accusation of witchcraft against Reverend Hale’s wife once he began showing opposition towards her; her attempts to persuade John Proctor into thinking she is victimized, as well as her attempt to persuade him into abandoning Salem together and boarding a ship. All of these scenes, absent from the text, exhibits Abigail’s psychosis, desperation, and the exceeding lengths she is willing to go through to get her

Furthermore, in act three Proctor begins to put his words into actions. He has developed an urge to fight for his wife, due to Proctor finally believing in what he is fighting for. During the play Proctor, “Looks at Elizabeth, but she cannot speak. “She never saw no spirits,” (88), Proctor says defending Elizabeth. He wants to protect her from false evidence and from his past mistakes. Proctor is no longer only worried about himself and what will happen if he confesses. Proctor tries to reason with court, he asks for, ”God [to] help [him], [he] lusted and there is a promise in such sweat. But it's a whore’s vengeance, and [they] must see it,” (110). Proctor exhibits empathy towards his previous actions of adultery throughout act three of, The Crucible, where as in the beginning he had no empathy towards others or his actions. Proctor is quick to protect Elizabeth when she is accused of things that the court has no proof on. “There might also be a dragon with five legs in [his] house, but no one has ever seen it,” (104), Proctor told the court with vengeance. “[His] wife is innocent, except she knew a whore when she saw one!” (111), she has no reason to lie or cover for Proctor, for great sins by Proctor were inflicted upon Elizabeth. Proctor harbors great guilt for, ”She only thought to save [his] name!” (113). Proctor went from a sinner to a tragic hero and is starting to

“ Gabriel: ‘Oh, yeah… I know it. The devil’s strong. The devil ain’t no pushover. Hellhounds snipping at everybody’s heels. But I

Abigail Williams, while on the journey of adultery, seems to of already carefully positioned her name in the devil’s book of self-conceited, merciless, and vindictive individuals that roams this Earth. No one's back holds an off limits sign when it comes to her grabbing a knife. Some may say that Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible, is dictated by a whore’s vengeance. While there’s some truth to this argument, I would counter that Abigail, the main antagonist, motives are beyond this. Maintaining her position of a victim to entrap anyone who dares cross her path is the premise upon which I build this counterargument. Abigail, not only abandons her hopeless relationship with John Proctor in the end, but continues the travesties against the people of Salem before and after John’s imprisonment.

We see a profound shift in Proctor’s idea of himself as he faces his death, claiming: “for now I do think I see some shred of goodness in John Proctor” (Miller 144). With his final decision to not confess to a false accusation, he has redeemed himself by preserving his highly revered honesty, reducing his intense internal guilt, and ultimately restoring his personal honor. Despite being given the opportunity to escape this accusation, Proctor’s honor code compels him to give up his life, thus preventing the accusations against other members of his community from gaining any credibility.

“The Devil came to me and bid me to serve him”, A woman named confessed to serving the Devil.

During this essay I will introduce the main points involved in answering the proposed question. I will explore the certain aspects of Abigail’s personality and how it is an important role in portraying her reasons for her actions. I will also analyse the ways in which Abigail’s personality changes through the progression of the play. I will sum up which points have a bigger effect on her intentions and motivations and the effect she has on the characters of the play. I will support my reasons with quotations to justify its relevance.

Around the middle of the play Abigail takes action and accused Elizabeth to be a witch and

Abigail Is lying yell “the girl is a murderer! She must be ripped out of this world” doing anything

So, after the news that Abigail and the other girls’ outlandish actions begins to spread like a wildfire, the hysteria in the community take over. Abigail only contributes to the hysteria by telling lie after lie just to cover up her wrongdoings. Abigail is dreading telling the truth, which has triggered hysteria to a dangerous level that otherwise, would not have been achieved.

“If the devil were doing this to delude me and drag me down to hell, he would make use of means which so completely defeated their own ends by taking away my vices…making me virtuous and strong; for it was quite clear to me that these experiences had immediately made me a different person,” (St. Teresa 43).

Both the reader and Goodman Brown begin to realize that no ordinary man can entice the strong in faith from the path of from righteousness unless he is the devil. Furthermore, the